Randy,

I'm going to use the same paint and colors that you used. Question, did you paint on the existing covering?
Also, is the Model Masters paint already fuel proof against 15% fuel?

Question to TheVirginian,
Did you also use the Model Masters paint on yours? Is that top color the Dark Sea Blue? It doesn't look as dark as Randy's.

Randy,

Is that drop tank droppable and if so how was it done?

Aero D, Yes used Model Masters Dark Sea Blue on top then Intermediate Blue in the middle with Rustoleum flat white on the bottom. Don't know on the fuel proof part I have always cleared mine after it was all done. Now on the covering I stripped mine all off and glassed it plus did a lot of mods like take 6" out of the middle to make it more scale, like Luke has shown us way back in this thread. This is the second one of these Hellcats I have built so if you are wanting to use the stock covering and it is cloth then it will hold up and it is worth painting. Now if it is a clear plastic film that was then painted it sucks. This was what my first one had for covering but this one came with fabric covering. On clear you can use Top Flite Lustre Kote flat clear with good results which I have done before. I now use Dupont automotive paint that is flat.

Hepdog, no the tank is not dropable on mine. I am sure that it is possible but I have cables that go on yet but are not on the picture which will make it very hard to drop.

Randy

AeroD
I used a dark blue from Testor. The intermediate blue is custom mixed automotive paint and the white is Krylon rattle can. Clearcoated with Minwax Helmsman Satin Spar. At home mine looked as dark as warks. In the sun it brightend up. Was hoping to be able to maiden mine today, but it's too cold and too windy again[&o]. Hopefully next weekend. By then I should be done with my new motor installation for the GP Curtiss Hawk. Can't wait to see this baby fly with a new Brillelli 26SS. Pictures of new motor in Hawk P6E thread when done.

Thanks for the help to both Randy and TheVirginian. Hope to have mine repainted by next week.

Finally finished my Hellcat. It ended up with the Moki 135 turing a 16x8. The thing Hauls some serious butt. It flies scale at about half throttle. My scheme ended up with the solid gloss sea blue and the VF-83 squadron's tags from the U.S.S. Essex, it gets a little tricky to tell her attitude at far distances but I can live with it. The maiden went well, It needed a ton of down trim to make up for the elevator wash so it was a little hair raising at first take-off. It balanced with gear down at 127mm with 12 oz. of weight in the nose. the plans call for 120-135mm which is a little vague. It's my second airplane so the landing was A LOT trickier than my hanger-9 p-51pts. I'm a little worried about the CG. Should I balance with the gear down/up (century jets) or what? And can somebody give me a more specific measurement to work with?

You should balance with the gear up, especially with a rotating retract aircraft. The weight of the struts and wheels will shift rearward as the landing gear comes up, making your aircraft a bit more tail heavy. I balanced my hellcat at around 125 mm with the gear up and she flies well.

I believe you balance low wing aircraft upside down with the gear up, start with something in the middle of the range and try it out. Then adjust it to your taste.

Hope this helps,
bigbird

Thanks for the advice NAVY FLYER & BIGBIRD. I thought balance should be made with gear down for ease of landing but I'd rather be balnced while flying, Thanks again. I'll post some pictures as soon as figure it out!

With the bottom of the wing painted white, what kind of graphics, if any, are you using? Obviously the white star won't work.

canfieldnosedive, balance the hellcat with the gear RETRACTED into the wing. This holds true for any type of plane that has rotating retracts such as a corsair or skyraider.The weight of the tires/wheels is sometimes enough to throw your cg off so I would err on the side of caution and retract them before you balance her out.
John

Aero D, I have the blue back grounds painted on first then the Stars and Bars. Here is a sample just your normal Blue background with the white stars and bars. For the number on the other side I used the dark sea blue for the "2". I used paint masks in case you haven't figured it out. I don't have a pic of the bottom but I hope you get the idea.

Randy

Sweeet, thanks for the help Warks.

Spring is finally coming back here to IL and I'm kicking the project back into gear. Just finished the modified Zenoah G-23 with a Trevor Simpson 34mm big-bore head kit. It now has 13:1 compression and I think it makes it a G-34...
This poor Hellcat.... (this could be really ugly)
Cheers

That should be insane!!!!![&:]

Hope it stays together. You wouldn't want to hurt that sweet motor.

DION, where are you WE NEED YOU

Ok this is where I am at now. Putting it back together. We are just like the Chopper and Hotrod guys we put them together to mock them up then tear them down then put them back together. Oh what fun! Have not finished painting the gear yet but that will be tomorrow. Have all the parts now ready to assemble two tailwheel retracts. My friend Doug is doing a Cat also so I figured soldering up two would not be much more work. He did cut out all the PC board for me so now the easy part of building. Here are some pics it is now weathered and cleared. No more painting except for the gear and doors. Well I hope to have it finished by this next weekend but it might be the following weekend.

Randy

It is gread what you can do wit this kit
Do you know if Dion still have some of this parts for Hellcat?
I´m thinking about it as my next project
Cheers
vik

I cracked my canapy (the original from my kit). Where can i get a new one. or how much does dion charge or one.

You can get an original canopy replacement from Nitro. Just go to their Web site and search for "Canopy", scroll through until you find the Hellcat.
If anyone finds the custom canopys or wheel covers that Dion was making, let us know.

I have an original canopy I will send for the cost of postage. PM me with your sddress.

First, I want to say to Randy, GREAT JOB! I’m very impressed with your effort on the CMP Hellcat. Second, I can’t believe the popularity of this ARF! What the heck, I’ve sold far more of these parts than I ever thought I would, I just wonder why I’m not seeing many of them? Yes, it’s me, I’ve been busy with other things and have slipped out of the modeling circle for a while. I’m considering dusting off the molds and offering more parts if you guys would like some, I didn’t mean to drop off the earth, but when other things come up, well you know. I’m not doing any modeling at the moment but like I said, making a few more parts would not be a problem I guess. I do have a few cockpits, several drop tanks, wheel covers and a few canopies in stock for immediate shipment.
On the wheel covers you can make them more durable by covering the inside with light glass cloth and thin CA, that’s what I always do with my plastic cowls and wheel pants, works good.
Anyway, it’s really nice to see another Hellcat coming together. Never did see anyone finish a tail wheel, that was a little disappointing.

Let me know what you guys want,

Luke

Could you PM me a list, or post the costs of the wheel covers.

thanks Dave Trimmer.

I finally maidened my cat today. She was a good girl with no bad manners. Only a couple of down clicks and she was trimmed out. Unfortunately the wind kicked up from the south and we had a stiff breeze across the runway. Hopefully on sunday afternoon there will be another chance. So far I am very pleased withthe way she flies. Flares in for a greased landing. Good warbird
Now, Luke, if you have another canopy for sale I would like to buy one from you. Would you PM me you instructions how to get in touch with you?

warks62,
I like your cat a lot. She looks great. You gonna like the way she flies. Its an easy flying warbird, you'll see. Here are some pictures from today's maiden.